Two men arrested after incendiary device is found under a news vehicle
Two men were arrested after authorities found an incendiary device beneath a vehicle belonging to a Salt Lake City television news station Friday, according to court documents.
Bomb squads from the Salt Lake City Police Department and Unified Fire Authority responded to reports of a suspicious device and determined that it was a real “incendiary device,” that it had been placed under a Fox 13 News vehicle parked next to an occupied building, and that it “had been lit but failed to function as designed,” according to an officer’s affidavit of probable cause.
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“Due to the nature of the device and its placement, this incident constituted a significant threat to public safety,” it said.
When asked for a description of the device, Kelly Bird, a spokesperson for the Unified Fire Authority, said he could not give further details because of the investigation.
“It is basically something that has the potential to become flammable,” he said.
It was unclear if the vehicle had been occupied while the device was placed underneath it.
The two suspects, Adeeb Nasir, 58, and Adil Justice Ahmed Nasir, 31, face multiple charges, including threat of terrorism, possessing weapons of mass destruction, attempted aggravated arson and possessing explosive devices.
They were booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on Sunday and will be held without bail because of “substantial evidence to support the charge,” according to the affidavit.
“We are also aware that two individuals were arrested on allegations of state charges,” said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill. “We will follow our normal screening protocol in evaluating all the material when presented.”
A motive for the placement of the device was unknown. The FBI declined to comment, saying documents related to the case were sealed.
The mother of Adil Nasir and ex-wife of Adeeb Nasir said that the two men had hired a lawyer, though she did not know the lawyer’s name.
The woman, who requested anonymity for safety reasons, said that she believed her son “did not commit anything” and that he had been wrongly accused because he was a vocal opponent of the Trump administration. “He could not even hurt a bird,” she said.
The FBI searched the home of the two men Saturday and found them there, court documents said.
While executing the federal warrant, investigators found two “hoax weapons of mass destruction” inside the residence, along with two firearms and illegal narcotics. The affidavit of probable cause said “contraband and evidence of crimes outside the scope of the original warrant” included explosives and explosive-related components.
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